What is a wolf moon?

We bet that on reading ‘wolf’ in that phrase, you immediately wondered if it has anything to do with werewolves. First of all, werewolves are myths, but it does have something to do with wolves.

The wolf moon is merely one of the several names bestowed upon the full moon.

Typically, the full moon occurs every 29.5 days and this is when the view of the moon from Earth is most glorious.

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Being translucent, the moon reflects the sun’s rays, and when it is in its full phase, it looks illuminated, perfectly circular and gorgeous.

Various traditions all over the world have named each month’s full moon differently, depending on what it means to them or the unique characteristics of that period.

The January full moon is therefore called the wolf moon by Native Americans and medieval Europeans due to the howling of hungry wolves at the mid-winter season, when food is scarce.

In other traditions, it is known as ice moon or old moon.

The super blood wolf moon cometh

A super moon is when the moon is closest to Earth in its monthly orbit. The term was coined by Richard Noelle in 1979. He said that, if the moon comes at least 361,740 km close to Earth when measured from the center of both entities, then it qualifies as a super moon.

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A blood moon, on the other hand, is when the moon is eclipsed entirely and a reddish tint is cast over it.

Interestingly, all three events are scheduled to happen this January, between the 20th and 21th, thus culminating in a super blood wolf moon.

Total coverage of the moon will last about 62 minutes, beginning from 11:41 pm Eastern Time on the 20th and 4:41 pm Universal Time on 21st.